Fire on Cajon Pass

On Saturday, August 17, I was approaching the pass on my way home to Victorville from Corona and could not figure out why I-15 was so heavy with traffic on a late Saturday afternoon.  I soon found out.  But I think I was in the twilight zone because the first weird thing was the temperature reading.

Not what the temp really was.

This was the first reason for the traffic.

Then the first fire.

Then the second fire.

Good thing I got through when I did.

Cajon Pass Site Survey

On June 16, 2011, I was out and about again when I had to take a detour (of my own choosing) while travelling back up the Cajon Pass back to Victorville.  I was smack dab in the middle of the San Bernardino State Park.  It’s a really cool looking place and I was in no place in particular.  I used my PowerShop S5 IS on this and a bit of level tweeking (just a few moments ago) with Photoshop – because I like to tweek my shots.  This was basically a survey for a future model shoot but I have yet to shoot in these areas – though I have shot in the park.  Have a look.

Snowcaps through the Cajon Pass

We’re still on January 5, 2011.  I’m heading back to Fontana on the 15 heading to the Cajon Pass.  And I’m snapping the shutter and taking photos!

If you have ever made that run from Vegas to So Cal proper, then this will look familiar.

Just past the summit heading down the pass.  Everyone was kind of enough to stop their vehicles for me so I could take this shot.

It is a magnificent view.  Most never notice though.

On the left side middle of the photo, you can see where the north and south bound lanes rejoin.  It is also the CHP’s favorite spot to wait for those unfortunate souls who are still pissed off from losing so much money and are not paying attention to their downhill speed – probably 90 plus.

And this is what happens when your auto focus decides the windshield is what you wanted to capture.  A dirty windshield doesn’t help.

These five pictures were shot in program mode and all shot with my Canon PowerShot A540.

Magnificent

Here are six shots that give a very brief sample of the splendidly magnificent beauty that is all around us if you just care to look for it.  It is the kind of thing that many take for granted.  I know I did before I moved away from California for the first time.  That was back in 1986.  I had dreamed of returning ever since.  I will not take it for granted again.

I shot this in January 2011 from a parking lot in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.  I shot this with my Canon PowerShot A540.  The beast is still putting in good work.  The shot is magnificent.

Heading back from Victorville to Fontana in early February this year, this was a view from my van in the Cajon Pass.  I shot this with my Canon PowerShot S5 IS, my super camera.  The rest of the photos I took with the S5 IS too.  This shot is again, magnificent.

I took this in early February too.  I was in Lancaster in the evening and the sky came alive.  The sight is absolutely magnificent.

I took this photo in a neighborhood in Fontana in early February again.  Again, at night I was lucky to capture this scene in the sky.  That’s right; it is a remarkably magnificent view.

Here again in the Cajon Pass, I shot this using my world renown “drive by photography” technique I perfected in the war in Iraq back in 2003.  Well maybe not ‘world renown’ but you know…  Just the same, this is another magnificent photo.

In Fontana on Cherry Street heading northbound just past the speedway back in April of this year, I shot this photo.  I caught a storm brewing.  All of these shots illustrate the just a small sample of the grandeur that is California.  However, California does not have a monopoly on breadth taking landscapes.  Many are right outside your door.  And I am sure that they are equally as magnificent.